"Makes me feel less isolated"
The week Jessica was diagnosed with an eye disease that would progressively impair her vision, she also found out she had cancer. A few things have helped her continue to feel strong and less isolated.
Hadley
Makes me feel less isolated
Jessica: Just hearing the experiences of other people, it makes me feel less isolated and that these experiences are not just mine, but they are pretty universal to the low vision community.
Marc: This is Hadley’s Insights and Sound Bites, where people facing vision loss share what has helped them cope and adjust.
Jessica: Hey, my name is Jessica Simmel and I am from New York, New York. I was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa in December of 2016. The same week I found out that I had breast cancer. And now, eight years later, sitting at my window birding and listening to some of these podcasts and realized that maybe I did have something to share.
Because listening to these stories, these sound bites are so validating. I have about eight degrees of vision left, probably a little less by now. And, it's hard. As you all know, and something that has brought me comfort this year, that has allowed me to really keep going is adaptive sports.
I'm 51 years old. I had stopped doing anything athletic due to arthritis in my wrists, my knees, my hip. And then I learned about an adaptive climbing group that was about 45 minutes away from where I live. And when I was sighted, I absolutely loved climbing, but I hadn't done it, probably since 16 years ago.
And it's been six months that I have been doing adaptive rock climbing, and I can say that it's truly changed my life. It just made me feel strong in my own body. And I hadn't felt that in a really, really long time.
The other thing that has helped me is listening to stories from other people. Just hearing the experiences of other people, it makes me feel less isolated and that these experiences are not just mine, but they are pretty universal to the low vision community.
So I hope this help and thank you all for helping me with your stories. Thank you.
Marc: You never know who might need to hear your story. If you’d like to share with us, just leave us a message on our Insights & Sound Bites voicemail. By calling, 847-512-4867. Or, you can use your smartphone or computer and email us a recording to [email protected].
All Episodes
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Episode 11
Gregory shares how finding a mentor made all the difference in the world to him, and his entire family.
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Episode 10
Listen in as we hear from Sarah. For her, hearing a blind architect's story changed her perspective on what was possible.
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Episode 9
Listen in as Tom shares how leaning on his faith helps him adjust to vision loss.
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Episode 8
Pat shares with us the choices she made when faced with a visual impairment.
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Episode 7
Darryl shares with us how a referral to a low vision specialist was where his life with vision loss began to turn around.
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Episode 6
Annie shares with us the steps she took to work through her depression by seeking help from a mental health professional.
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Episode 5
Sharon shares with us how she worked through the isolation and found people just like her to get the support she needed.
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Episode 4
Hannah shares with us how she had to give herself permission to grieve her vision loss in order to reach acceptance.
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Episode 3
Randy's search for help led him into a whole new way of thinking.
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Episode 2
Ruth shares how her mother's advice, "Knock the T Off Can't," helped her.
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Episode 1
Larry shares how he found strength in his core beliefs to get him through the shock of his initial diagnosis.